A Lighton Year
by PrincessGarnet17
Summary: At Lighton High School, a group of students will start the year that will change their lives forever. Oneshots. Characters from many different Final Fantasy games, including Yuna, Zidane, Aerith, Squall, Zack and Serah. Pairings inside.
1. In the Clouds

(As promised from the story description) Pairings: Zack X Aerith, Cloud X Tifa, Squall X Rinoa, Tidus X Yuna, Zidane X Garnet, Snow X Serah

Please note these are only some of the pairings and they may or may not change. These are just the ways things are for the first couple chapters. Telling you all of the pairings would spoil some of the story. And that wouldn't be any fun, now would it? (:

On another note, Hey! Hi! Hello! Thank you for reading this! Hopefully, you will feel enticed to read, review and subscribe to this story. Much appreciated if you do! On a side note, every time I think about Hope or listen to his theme, I get emotional. He's just too cute! My sister thinks I'm insane.

Have an excellent day!

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><p>Serah Farron nervously pulled on the nylon seatbelt. It seemed like it was the only thing holding her down to the Earth. <em>If <em>_I __could, __I__ would __just __float __up __and __away._ Serah thought. _There__'__s __no __high __school __in__ the __clouds._

Serah's older sister, Lightning, put her foot to the floor in an attempt to make the yellow light at the intersection. As the light flicked from yellow to red, Lightning slammed on the breaks and the beat-up, white station wagon lurched to a halt. She had always been kind of a crazy driver. Lightning swore under her breath from the driver's seat. "We're going to be a little late, guys."

"You don't have to drive like a maniac, you know." Hope said. Serah looked over and smiled, glad he was able to verbalize what she was feeling.

A couple years ago, the Farron's mother died from illness. Their father having died right after Serah was born, the sisters were left with no other family. Serah could still vividly remember the day some distant cousin three times removed or whatever came to pick them up. The moment the man walked through the door, Lighting made it clear she would not go. Of course, Serah refused as well. If she couldn't be with her sister, there was no point in going. After hours of trying to convince the girls, the man finally decided to sign them off as emancipated minors. _He__ probably __wouldn__'__t__ have __taken __care __of __us __anyway._ Serah thought, frowning. He sent a check every once in a while. The money helped them make it through the month, but it was sometimes had to make ends meet. Even so, the girls were just happy to be together.

The Estheims had moved in next door to the Farron sisters soon after. Serah and Hope, being the same age, had become fast friends. Even Lighting had a soft spot for the cheerful and naïve boy. Hope smiled back at Serah.

Lightning turned around and glared at Hope. "Who's a maniac?"

She turned back around and Serah and Hope giggled quietly.

"Just be careful driving, Lightning." Serah said. "It's fine if we're a bit late."

But it wasn't really. Would she have enough time to find her locker? To get to her first class on time? What about finding her friends? _Why__ do __I __have __to __be __late __on __the __first __day __of __my __freshman __year?_ She had never wanted to fly away more in her life.

But then she remembered Snow. All of a sudden, it wasn't the seatbelt holding her to the Earth. It was him. She smiled.

Snow had been her boyfriend for a couple months now. At first, Lightning wasn't too thrilled about it, especially since he was a year older. But once she saw that he really cared for her, she didn't mind him.

_And __now__ we__'__re __going __to __finally __be __at __the __same __school!_ Serah thought, excitedly. _I__ hope __we __have __the __same __lunch __period. __Maybe __we __have __some__ free __periods __or __electives __together. __What __electives __did__ I __sign __up__ for __again?_

Serah was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't notice that they had pulled up to the school. The hulking brick building was surrounded by grassy areas and benches. Off in the distance, Serah could see the football field. There were some people hanging out over there, but most were heading for the giant double doors under the sign that read "Lighton High School".

"Serah," Lightning said, twisting back to face her sister. "Hello?"

Serah snapped back to Earth. "Oh, we're here."

"Okay, so if anyone gives you any problems-"

"I tell you. I know, I know." Serah said, giggling. She knew it was just her sister's way of saying "Have a good day".

"Hey, what about me?" Hope asked, pouting.

"Yeah, yeah," Lightning said, nodding as she kicked open the driver's side door. She grabbed her backpack and hopped out.

Serah giggled and followed suit, gingely opening the door and stepping out onto the pavement. She picked up her pink backpack she had just bought and closed the door. Hope did the same.

The two looked at each other.

"Ready?" Hope asked.

"As ready as I'll ever be." Serah answered, with an uneasy smile. Hope smiled back before starting to walk up to the giant double doors.

She took a deep breath before following.


	2. Ready or Not

Tifa saw Zack, Aerith and Cloud hanging out on one of the benches.

"Hey!" She called, jogging over.

The other three called out greetings in return.

"Didn't think you'd make it, Tifa." Zack said.

She shrugged. "I overslept a bit."

"A bit?" Aerith asked, raising an eyebrow.

Tifa sighed. "Okay, a lot."

The three laughed and even Tifa cracked a smile. It had always been this way for the four of them. They all grew up on the same street and had been friends since they were in diapers. Even after Aerith moved across town and Zack's parents divorced, causing him to split time between the two households, the four had stayed close into their third year of high school.

Tifa turned to Aerith. "So Aerith, I know you're joining the cross country team this year. I just wanted to let you know that practice starts tomor-"

Aerith laughed. "Very funny, Tifa."

"Funny? I'm not joking." Tifa answered, with mock seriousness. "I know you had your heart set on it since I was voted captain at the end of last year."

Aerith snorted. "Like I could even survive one practice. Besides, you know I'll have my hands full with all my art classes."

Tifa made a sad face. "But you know there are only four of us on the team. We need more people! The more the merrier!"

"Oh, don't do those puppy eyes, Tifa." Zack said. "They make you look like you're choking."

She socked him lightly in the arm. "Shut up."

The four laughed until they heard the bell ring.

"Well, I guess we best be going to class." Zack said, pushing himself off the bench. "We're here to learn anyway, right?"

"Wait, seriously?" Aerith asked, making a face of mock surprise.

Zack lightly tickled her under her neck and Aerith broke into hysterics, pushing him away.

"No fair!" She said, pouting.

Zack wrapped his arms around her and she kissed his cheek.

Tifa could help but smiling, seeing how cute the pair were. They had started dating almost a year ago and were always "that" happy couple. Tifa was more than a bit jealous but never showed it because she was happy that it was two of her best friends in the whole world.

She rolled her eyes in pretend disgust. "Let's go, lovebirds."

The four started up the stone steps. As they were walking, Tifa turned to Cloud. He had been quiet, as usual.

"Hey," She said.

"Hey," He answered back.

"You ready?" She asked, gesturing towards the door.

He shrugged. "What's there to be ready for?"


	3. Glissando

**Author's Note: **Just an FYI, the song Garnet is singing is Song of Memories from Final Fantasy IX (which is basically the tune of Melodies of Life, set to _laa_-ing and a beautiful harp accompaniment).

I love these two so much! They're the reason I started playing Final Fantasy (:

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><p>Garnet slipped quietly into one of the music classrooms. As she heard the door click, she sighed. It had definitely been a long day. And it wasn't even half over.<p>

She walked over to the piano and ran her hand across the smooth top. The room was completely empty. Mrs. Heartilly always let Garnet use her room during her frees when he didn't have a class.

Garnet was particularly close with Mrs. Heartilly. She lived down the street from the Heartillys and had gone to the same elementary and middle schools as her daughter, Rinoa, who was a year older. The two and their families were very close. Because both of them were only daughters, they often acted as sisters. The two had a tradition of sleeping over at one another's houses on the weekends, watching chick flicks, telling secrets and giggling.

In addition, Mrs. Heartilly had grown fond of Garnet as a student. She was one of the only chorus members who focused during rehearsals. She also took her music theory and music history classes and was a prefect student in both.

Garnet loved music. She played the piano but her favorite thing to do was sing. The couple of people standing around her in the chorus told her that she had a beautiful voice and always encouraged her to try out for solos. At first, Mrs. Heartilly did this too but she soon realized why she never showed up to open auditions.

Garnet was scared. Few things scared her but one of them was singing in front of a crowd. The thought absolutely terrified her. What if she messed up? What then?

She sat down at the piano. The only time she could truly sing was alone.

She began to play. When she opened her mouth a beautiful sound came out.

_La-la-laaa. La-la-la-la-laaa. La-la-la-la-la-laa-la-la-laa-laa-laaa._

There were no words. Garnet hadn't made words to her song. She had tried but she didn't even know what to write about. Love? Never experienced. Life? Nothing remarkable happened. A story? What story did she have to tell?

As she played the last couple notes to her song. _It__'__s__ not_ _like __it __needs__ words._ She thought. _No__ one__ will __hear __it __anyways._

As she took her hands off from the keys, she heard clapping. Garnet whirled around to find herself looking up a boy with chin-length blond hair and twinkling blue eyes.

"That was beautiful." He said.

Garnet blushed and looked away. "T-thanks."

"Aww, you're even cuter when you blush."

Garnet looked up with a questioning glance. She was shocked to find that the boy had leaned in even closer so that his face was a mere six inches or so away.

"My name's Zidane. And yours?"

Garnet leaned back a little to create space between the two. Zidane leaned closed, keeping the same distance.

"I'm Garnet." She said, hoping he would leave.

Zidane leaned back so there was a more acceptable amount of space between them. He stuck out his hand. "Nice to meetcha', Garnet."

She politely took his hand. "Nice to meet you too."

He squeezed her hand once. "Ooh, soft!"

She felt a blush creep across her cheeks as she searched for what to say.

The bell rang and Garnet immediately yanked her hand back, grateful for the interruption. "I better go." She said, turning towards the door.

"See you around, Garnet!" Zidane called out.

"Mmm-hmm," Garnet agreed, absent-mindedly. She walked quickly out of the room.


	4. Goals and Cheer

**Author's Note: **Partially inspired by my school's cross country team which only has, yes, six members.

R&R por favore! (:**  
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><p>"Tifa!" Rinoa called out, standing up from her seat at the wooden table.<p>

She saw her and immediately trotted over to their table in the courtyard. Rinoa enveloped her in a hug.

"Rinoa, we just saw each other last weekend." Tifa said, choking.

"Well, I still miss yoooooou," Rinoa said in a sing-song voice. It was true; she had missed Tifa. Since the two met freshman year, they were inseparable.

Tifa laughed and the two broke apart. They sat down at the table and began eating the lunches they brought.

"So, anything happen since I saw you last?" Tifa asked.

Rinoa shrugged. "Nothing much. I just hung out with Squall a lot since we really won't be able to once school starts."

Rinoa's thoughts immediately turned to Squall. It had been about two years since the two started dating. Squall had just graduated from Lighton in June and had since gone on to SeeD, the local military academy. Although he always made time to see her, she missed him very much and didn't really know how she would be able to get through the year without him at the same school.

"Man, I am jealous of you two. You guys are so cute!" Tifa said, sighing.

Rinoa giggled. She couldn't help but think of Tifa and Cloud. It was so obvious she had a crush on him, even though she vehemently denied it. _She __can __just __be__ so__ dense __sometimes! _Rinoa thought. _Her __and __Cloud __both!_ She giggled again.

"What are you laughing at?" Tifa asked, raising an eyebrow. This only made Rinoa laugh harder.

Selphie, Penelo and Refia, three sophomores and Rosa, a junior, made up the rest of the girls' cross country team. They soon came over to eat their lunches.

"Better load up, ladies!" Tifa said, smiling. "Practice today will not be fun!"

"How can you saw that so happily?" Rinoa asked, peeling her banana.

"Really?" Selphie asked, sounding kind of scared.

"Nah." Tifa said, sticking her tongue out. "I'm just messin' with ya."

Penelo and Refia giggled while Rosa cracked a smile. "That's our dictator-captain, for you." Rinoa said.

"But, seriously, we have a problem." Tifa said, switching to a serious tone. "There are only _six_ of us on the team. That's a problem if we want to win the county tournament."

"We're aiming for counties this year?" Selphie asked, wide-eyed.

"Yep!" Tifa said. The girls looked at her like she was crazy. "Oh, come on, guys! We can do it!"

She stood up. "Look, we are the goddamn best team out there. We train our naturally-talented butts off, which is so much more than those other schools can say. I say we aim for counties this year!"

The girls took a moment to process this. Suddenly, Refia stood up too.

"I agree!" She said, punching her fist in the air. "Let's do this thing!"

"Yeah!" Penelo said.

"Setting our goals high is a good way to achieve them." Rosa agreed.

Selphie let out a cheer as the bell rang.

"Okay, ladies, hands in." Tifa said. The girls piled their right hands on each other's. "On three, cheer as loudly as you can so that everyone stares."

The teams looked quizzically at Tifa as she smiled. "One, two-"

Everyone in the courtyard stared at the small group of cheering girls.


	5. Castles in the Sky

Aerith turned the knob on the art studio door and poked her head in.

"Hellooo?" She called out in a sing-songy voice. Gradually, faces emerged from behind easels and tables and various other projects in many different stages of completion.

"Hey, Aerith!"

She turned around. "Yuna! How've you been?" The two girls hugged.

Yuna giggled. "Good, good. Not much has changed since I saw you, what was it, a month ago?"

Aerith smiled.

"Aerith!" Bartz and Terra walked up to her.

Bartz cleared his throat. "And there are some new freshmeat- I mean men, in our art class! Say hello to-"

He looked around. "Arc? Where'd you go?"

A soft mumbling came from behind an easel.

"There he is!" Bartz quickly went over and pulled Arc by the wrist over to where Aerith was standing.

"Aerith, this is Arc. He's a freshmen who'll be in our drawing class this year." He turned to Arc. "Arc this is Aerith."

Aerith smiled at the wide-eyed boy. _He__'__s__ so __adorable!_ She thought. All she really wanted to do was ruffle his brown hair and hug the living daylights out of him but she settled for a handshake instead.

"Nice to meet you, Arc." She said, sticking out her hand.

"Nice to meet you too." Arc replied, in a voice barely above a whisper.

While there was no official "art club", the same group of people could always be found in the art studio after school, working on whatever project they felt like. And because there was no actually club, there were no leaders. However, everyone felt respect and admiration towards Aerith, both as an artist and a person. Everyone silently agreed that she was the unofficial leader of the group.

"He got put into our drawing class? This kid even any good?" No one had noticed that Mydia, a callous, hot-tempered junior had walked in the room.

"Hello to you to, Mydia." Aerith said, evenly. Inwardly, she rolled her eyes.

Bartz ruffled a very frightened Arc's hair. "Don't be scared of old Mydia. She's like that to everyone." Bartz looked up at Mydia. "And besides, this kid can really draw."

Mydia raised an eyebrow.

"Arc, why don't you show us that drawing you were just working on?" Bartz said, smiling.

Arc nodded and retrieved it from the easel he was hiding behind before. He handed it to Bartz, whose smile became even smugger.

"Take a look here, Mydia." Bartz said, holding the paper out to her.

Aerith stood on her toes to see. She gasped.

The picture was breathtaking. It was some kind of floating continent, dotted with buildings and castles. Although the entire drawing was done in pencil, the detail was exquisite. Even stone was drawn in and every tree branch had its own twigs and leaves.

"It's beautiful." Aerith breathed.

Even Mydia looked shocked at the quality of the drawing. Once she had closed her mouth that had fallen open in surprise, she stuck out her bottom lip angrily and sat down at an easel, taking a sketchbook out of her backpack. She immediately began to work, not talking to the rest of the group.

Aerith smiled at Bartz. "Thank you" she mouthed to him.

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><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>I imagined Arc's drawing to be the box art for the Final Fantasy III DS remake release in Japan and Europe. (In America, we just get the boring logo one -_-)


End file.
